Racket



(No Model.)

C. BEEGROFT.

RAGKBT.

Patented Oct. 18, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

CLEMENT BEECROFT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAC K ET'.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 484,578,'dated October 18, 1892.

Application led February 27, 1892. Serial No. 423,000. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, CLEMENT BEECROFT, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rackets, which improvement is fully set forth in the following speciiication and accompanying drawings.

My invention consists of a racket having its hoop or ring reinforced by a wrapping of parchment, skin, or other integument or material.

It also consists in passing the gut or cords through the wrapping and hoop, thus tightening the wrapping and increasing the strength of the hoop. p

Figure l represents a perspective view of a racket embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a face view of a portion of the head thereof on an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 represents a section on line a: ne, Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the head of a racket, and B designates the handle thereof. The head consists of the wooden ring or hoop G and crossed gut or cords D.

-E designates a piece or strip of parchment, skin, or other integunient of a tough and strong nature, the same being glued, cemented, &c., and wrapped spirally around the hoop C, and secured at its ends to api-oper portion of said hoop or of the handle, thus completely incasing the hoop with the integument, by which provision the hoop is vastly reinforced and strengthened and enabled to withstand the severe usage to which it is subjected. The outer periphery of the hoop is grooved, as at F, where the cords cross from one opening F to another or are reeved on said periphery, and said cords are passed through the integument, so that the latter is drawn into said grooves F, and thereby tightened to a greater extent, whereby the strengthening nature of the integument on the hoop is increased, it being also seen that the portion of the cords that are on the outside of the integu ment are sunken, owing to the grooves F, so that they are not liable to be struck, scraped, or otherwise injured when the racket is in use. The integurnent E is wound in strips on the hoop C, and the passages forming the openings F are inclined, having their entrances on the outer face of the hoop near the upper and lower edges thereof and on the in ner surface of the hoop at or about the central line thereof, and are so arranged with reference to the edges of the strip E that the portions of the cord in the grooves F cross the said edges, thereby aiding in keeping the said strip in place on the hoop.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A racket having a hoop provided with areinforce consisting of a strip of integument wound thereon, openings in the hoop and integument, and grooves on the periphery ot' the hoop, leading from one opening to another, and cords which pass through the said openings and are sunken in the portion of said integument drawn into said grooves, substantially as described.

CLEMENT BEECROFT.

Witnesses;

JOHN A. WIEDEESHEIM, R. H. GEAEsEE. 

